Acid Soil Adaptation Management in Western North Dakota with Hard Red Spring Wheat
Hard Red Spring Wheat (HRSW) yields are decreasing due to acidic soils. No-till practices paired with heavy N use have lowered the soil pH on many acres of the Northern Great Plains. Acid soil where the pH drops below 5.5 has an impact on nutrient availability, soil microbial activity, stunted roots from aluminum (Al) toxicity and other plant/soil interactions. These areas can be improved from surface liming; however, liming can be costly. For many producers facing this issue, especially those working rented land, there is a search for alternative options to reduce yield loss on acidic ground. Research has been conducted in western North Dakota on adaptive management strategies for mitigating the symptoms of aluminum toxicity and soil acidity including variety selection, in-furrow fertilizer application, and seed treatments. Variety selection showed a significant difference in yield. Interactions were found among variety, biochar application, and in-furrow phosphorus. It was observed that a susceptible variety of Hard Red Spring Wheat (SY Soren) had a yield response to in-furrow phosphorus (P), where a tolerant variety (Lanning) did not respond to in-furrow P. Calcium in-furrow did not have an impact on yield. Across HRSW varieties a yield bump of 1.5 bushel was shown from seed placed P (0-45-0) applied at high rates (60 lb P2O5/ac). This mechanism doesn’t appear to be as strong for HRSW as shown in similar durum trials. A yield reduction from biochar was identified with the control yielding 24 bushels/ac and a rate of 8 lbs/ac seed placed yielded 17.6 bushels/ac.